Taliesin West...............

Located in lovely Scottsdale, Arizona, is Taliesin West....the winter home of Frank Lloyd Wright. For more information, click here. The famous architect hailed from Wisconsin, but the winters were so harsh that after a bout of pneumonia, his doctor advised him to spend the winters in a warmer climate if he wanted to survive. So, he built this humble abode in the desert and drove from Wisconsin every winter.

We had the BEST tour guide...he was so interesting and spoke so well. (He actually reminded me of Ronald Reagan, with that nice "storytelling" voice). What we saw was a completed campus, including glass in the windows and actual roofs on the buildings. However, when Frank lived and worked here, there was no glass in the windows...the home and office were more like shelters....to be at one with nature. He revered nature, and his work reflects that. The roofs were simple canvas, which allowed the best light to come in, yet kept the elements out.

By the time he was building Taliesin West, Mr. Wright had no money (i think he spent it all on his 90 cars). Though he was a revered architect, the Depression had an effect on his business and he was broke. How did he build Taliesin? Why, his students...who learned by doing. It actually was a great story to hear about, and like I said, the docent was so good at describing the life and times there at Taliesin.

Taliesin West

waiting for the tour guide

a beautiful location

These buildings were not quite as comfortable as it looks right now. There were no windows, and wildlife (like snakes and mountain lions) could come into the buildings. Most of the lighting was natural...through the glass-less "windows" or through the canvas. "Primitive but elegant", as the website says, describes it accurately.

the doorway to Frank Lloyd Wright's office

inside the office...there are now windows, but not back in the day. This is where clients saw their blueprints.

walls are rock and cement, and are original

the outside is gorgeous

love the water features

roofs are now permanent, but WERE canvas - it was a step up from camping

rocks with petroglyphs....no regulations back when Taliesin was being built

This building houses the designers' drafting studio and Frank Lloyd Wright's living spaces. The stories were very interesting, especially the lives of the students. They lived in tents, and did all the building themselves. They also did things like cook! How would they learn to design a great kitchen if they themselves didn't cook? That was the general philosophy.....learn by doing!

lots of triangles....inspired by the mountains

just beautiful...and the water features were put in place in case of fire

a look at the design studio (under the white roof) for the students and designers there today

please stay with the tour group....ahem..

back in the day, the students (and everyone there) lived in tents while building the structures

Apparently, Frank Lloyd Wright's favorite color was Cherokee red, and we could see that everywhere. From what the docent said, most of the 90 cars he owned over his lifetime were that color too. This open, large living room was used for entertaining as well as his personal use. There were many different sitting areas. Many of his concepts are still popular today - he was a true visionary. The furnishings are all his designs as well.

Frank Lloyd Wright's living space...his home here

gigantic living room for entertaining and for his clients

he designed everything...and his favorite color was Cherokee red...as you will see throughout

this tour is so interesting!

lots of open space and windows

oh, and happy holidays

cool

the orange "hole" in the stone wall leads to more bedrooms

artwork throughout

more

lots of fireplaces too...it gets cold in the desert at night!

Moving through an interesting "hallway", we made our way to the bedrooms. The main bedroom was actually open on one side, not protected from the elements or wildlife. His wife was not too fond of that, and later other bedrooms were built for his wife and kids. They were accessed via the orange door in the stone wall, and we weren't able to see that on this tour. Frank Lloyd Wright liked to work overlooking the outdoors, and the desk in his room was perfect! He spent many hours there, and the students learned not to disturb him when he was working there.

hallways to other areas..so cool

one of the bedrooms

and the desk in his room....open to the air all around (no wall on the one side)

that is the family room we were just in

another look at the bedroom/and his desk...where he worked a LOT

stainless steel bathroom

cozy

Besides the living quarters and studio, we also visited a couple of other buildings....a movie theater, a performing arts theater and a cabaret. The arts and creative life were very important to Frank Lloyd Wright, and his students. As was his way, he required the students to "perform" on stage, and felt that it would benefit later in their careers by being able to speak in public and give presentations to clients. It seemed to be a philosophy that he had towards himself and all his students.....learn by doing! (Sort of like the movie "Karate Kid"....build the skills you will need by doing seemingly low level, mundane things!)

this building is the "media room", where movies were shown to guests

the ceiling was cool too, and the lighting...he was a maverick and many of his ideas are popular today

this outdoor dragon spits fire at night (thanks to propane hookup)

a view outside....pretty nice

the dining room for staff and students

another water feature

a peak inside the design room (currently used by all the students and in-house designers)

resident artist's sculpture gallery

ready to go into the theater?

lots of artwork and creativity here

the theater....still used today

a LEGO display of the Taliesin West grounds in the back of the theater...it is going on the market for $100,000

the theater is still used today

our last stop...the cabaret  (by the way, this tour guide was the BEST!)

walking in to the cabaret

the design of the room with 6 walls allows for great acoustics...you can whisper on stage and hear it in the back of the theater

Though we are not too "into" architecture, we found this tour to be really interesting and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Taliesin West. The prices were a bit steep, but unbeknownst to us before we went, there are bargain days, and our visit happened to be during one....so we had a nice price break! ($24 instead of $36....thank you!) Check it out before you make plans to go!

On a totally different note, this being the first day of the new year....as I think about my new year's resolutions, I keep coming back to this canvas we have on the wall of our camper. I really do read it every day and it has served me well. I think I posted this last year too. Food for thought anyway, as I try to lose weight, exercise more, learn a new language.......yadayadayada......

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!